Political Fever
I have a problem, I think. My problem is that I have never been so consumed with an election. Is this some sort of moral or spiritual failure on my part? The United States political decision making structure may or may not bring about the changes that facilitate world peace. But, I actually contributed $10 to a political campaign this morning.
Last night I met with one of my teachers in Lynwood. I scheduled the meeting prior to the date of the Presidential Debates being announced. I have a guilty confession: Half the time the teacher was pouring her heart out about the dysfunction at her school, I was thinking that I needed to get out of there so that I could make it home by 6:00 to catch the debate on TV.
Teacher: "My principal says that she won't do anything to fix the chaos in the parking lot. She says that if one of the kids gets run over, their parent will probably be happy because they could sue the school district. And besides, they can always have another kid. These people pop them out like rabbits."
LD: "No way!" etc. etc. etc.
But in my head, I'm thinking, "Yep, heard it all before. Yep, people say crazy things like that...it's the culture of low expectations, racism, classism and it won't be the last time you hear some ish like that so, let's get this convo rolling so I can get out the door, into my car, and zoom home to sit in front of the tv and watch the debate."
I have political fever. I was frustrated that at 6:00 I was on the 110 Northbound. On my way home, true, but the 110 is also a veritable parking lot at 6:00.
I called my mom.
LD: "Hey mom, are you watching the debates?"
Mom: "No, why would I do that? I already know who I'm voting for."
LD: "Well, don't you want to know what Bush says?"
Mom: "I already know what he stands for and I have other things to do."
I got off the phone in a jiffy. I was frustrated and convinced that I would like to throw eggs at Karl Rove for deluding my mom, and then I remembered: RADIO! I tuned into to KPCC, the NPR station out of Pasadena City College. I was pleasantly surprised.
Being in the car forces you to listen. You can't see any smirking. You can't crack on the orange glow that tanning products leave on the faces of both candidates. Instead, you hear how many times Bush says, "Umm. Uhh." I wish I could have tallied how many times he said umm...I'd get fired if I mumbled and stuttered that frequently during a presentation at work.
I finally arrived home at 7:00 and caught the the next 1/2 hour on tv and then watched MSNBC's commentators afterwards. Olinga does not share my obsession.
"What's this show mommy?"
"It's called Hardball."
"I don't like this show. Can we watch Totally Spies?"
Last night I met with one of my teachers in Lynwood. I scheduled the meeting prior to the date of the Presidential Debates being announced. I have a guilty confession: Half the time the teacher was pouring her heart out about the dysfunction at her school, I was thinking that I needed to get out of there so that I could make it home by 6:00 to catch the debate on TV.
Teacher: "My principal says that she won't do anything to fix the chaos in the parking lot. She says that if one of the kids gets run over, their parent will probably be happy because they could sue the school district. And besides, they can always have another kid. These people pop them out like rabbits."
LD: "No way!" etc. etc. etc.
But in my head, I'm thinking, "Yep, heard it all before. Yep, people say crazy things like that...it's the culture of low expectations, racism, classism and it won't be the last time you hear some ish like that so, let's get this convo rolling so I can get out the door, into my car, and zoom home to sit in front of the tv and watch the debate."
I have political fever. I was frustrated that at 6:00 I was on the 110 Northbound. On my way home, true, but the 110 is also a veritable parking lot at 6:00.
I called my mom.
LD: "Hey mom, are you watching the debates?"
Mom: "No, why would I do that? I already know who I'm voting for."
LD: "Well, don't you want to know what Bush says?"
Mom: "I already know what he stands for and I have other things to do."
I got off the phone in a jiffy. I was frustrated and convinced that I would like to throw eggs at Karl Rove for deluding my mom, and then I remembered: RADIO! I tuned into to KPCC, the NPR station out of Pasadena City College. I was pleasantly surprised.
Being in the car forces you to listen. You can't see any smirking. You can't crack on the orange glow that tanning products leave on the faces of both candidates. Instead, you hear how many times Bush says, "Umm. Uhh." I wish I could have tallied how many times he said umm...I'd get fired if I mumbled and stuttered that frequently during a presentation at work.
I finally arrived home at 7:00 and caught the the next 1/2 hour on tv and then watched MSNBC's commentators afterwards. Olinga does not share my obsession.
"What's this show mommy?"
"It's called Hardball."
"I don't like this show. Can we watch Totally Spies?"
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